Apple Watch Ultra 4 could benefit from a redesign and blood pressure monitoring

Apple Watch Ultra 4 could get a complete redesign and blood pressure monitoring, says DigiTimes.

Apple will apparently add a new high blood pressure notification feature to the Apple Watch that uses the optical heart rate sensor on the back of the device to analyze how blood vessels respond to each heartbeat, sending alerts when an abnormal pattern is detected. The feature is reportedly under review by the FDA.

It’s unclear how it differs from the hypertension notifications feature Apple introduced with watchOS 26 last fall, which itself uses the optical heart sensor to analyze blood vessel responses over 30-day periods. DigiTimes says that previous Apple Watch models already had some blood pressure sensing capabilities, and the new feature appears to represent a more refined or clinically validated implementation of that underlying hardware.

After that, Apple’s next health monitoring capabilities are expected to focus on non-invasive blood sugar monitoring, a capability that Apple has been pursuing for several years, pending government approval.

The report is largely consistent with a DigiTimes report last year, which indicated that at least one new Apple Watch model would feature a “significant redesign,” with supply chain sources pointing to exterior design changes, including eight sensors arranged in a ring on the back of the device. Today’s update describes the changes more forcefully, calling them a “complete overhaul” as well as a “significant upgrade to detection features.”

According to market observers cited in the report, the redesign could increase Apple Watch shipments by 20% to 30% compared to 2025. The sensor upgrades are expected to be a major boost for Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor (TASC), Apple’s exclusive supplier of sensor components, with large orders expected as early as July.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is expected to be announced alongside the Apple Watch Series 12, iPhone 18 Pro, ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, and foldable “iPhone Ultra” in fall 2026.